Appendix A

Recognizing that commercial demands
may cause overharvesting from the wild, the Medicinal Plants Working Group,
which includes representatives from industry, government, academia, Tribes,
and environmental organizations, aims to create a framework for discussion and
action on behalf of medicinal plants. The group's primary focus is to facilitate
action on behalf of species of particular conservation concern as a means to
balance biological and commercial needs and, in the long term, minimize regulatory
intervention. Within that framework, there may also be a need to provide public
education on Tribal interests and policies as these intersect with the conservation
of plants. The Working Group intends to raise awareness of native medicinal
plant issues and needs among partner agencies and cooperating organizations
to:

Generate and Share Information
Regarding Species of Medicinal and Economic Importance and Conservation Concern

Develop a list of all such plants

Assess currently available information
as appropriate to the objective

Conduct inventory and monitoring
of native medicinal plants

Quantify and monitor production,
consumption, and international trade in selected species

Assess the volume, intensity,
and ecological impact of harvesting from the wild for selected species

Compile information on existing
state laws or regulations that relate to medicinal plant conservation

Promote Sustainable Production
of Native Medicinal Plant Products

Promote research of commercial-scale
cultivation and propagation of native medicinals, and encourage sustainable
alternative cultivation and propagation techniques.

develop a short list of endangered,
medicinal plants with ongoing traditional and/or alternative cultivation/propagation
research, and current high consumer demand (using work started by other
organizations, such as United Plant Savers)

compile information about
the research and production of these plants to be presented via links
and other mechanisms on the PCA web site

develop a pilot research
grant mechanism to encourage alternative production practices that allow
natural ecologies to be reclaimed as sources of economic value to communities,
and to provide a mechanism for farmers to find sustainable economic alternatives
to large monocrops such as tobacco and wheat

Identify and promote market-based
incentives for consumption of products from sustainable sources.

develop a short list of ways
in which the organic industry built consensus for their value-added approach
to marketing products

identify potential partners
for the creation of a pilot medicinal plant production cooperative (ie,
university research facilities, extension agents, growers, manufacturers)

identify the inherent hurdles
to cooperative information sharing and production: a) what are the incentives
that would pull together varied community institutions; b) who are the
target audiences that would be interested in these market driven incentives;
c) what are the problems that would stop involvement

identify community development
grants available for a pilot project

Increase Participation in Native
Medicinal Plant Conservation

The number of groups interested in
native medicinal plants is growing. Participants ranging from consumers to policy
makers, farmers, and school children that could be brought into the discussion
through concerted outreach and education. The goal is to 1) expand awareness
of native medicinal plant needs among those who could assist with their conservation,
and 2) ensure that future generations grow into fuller awareness of the value
of these plants.

Educate policy-makers, consumers,
and the general public regarding the conservation status and importance of
native medicinal plants to focus attention on this issue and increase its
profile.

Develop medicinal plant fliers
that farmers could distribute to publics visiting their farms

Develop stories for the web
that demonstrate successful cultivation techniques

Centralize a collection of
free publications for distribution to interested publics

Meet with Master Gardener
program, Extension Service, Joint Ventures such as AECS and others to
reach farmers and offer models demonstrating the benefits of public

Encourage funding

Identify, quantify, and publicize
trends in the conservation status of native medicinal plants,including cases
of unsustainable use, and the benefits of conservation

Develop flier for public
dissimination that lists what the general public can do to promote medicinal
plant conservation

Ethnobotany is multi-disciplinary.
To discover the practical potential of native plants not only requires knowledge
of plants, but an understanding and sensitivity to the dynamics of how cultures
work. By observing the intimate and harmonious relationship of indigenous cultures
to their environment, their accumulated knowledge of the biodynamics of the
natural world, and their traditions of stewardship that sustain fragile ecological
balance, scientists, ethnobotanists, and others can gain insight into the management
of land reserves, plant communities, and the biodiversity they sustain, so as
to help maintain a balanced ecosystem for future generations.

Preserve indigenous and folk
knowledge, culture and biodiversity through education aimed at retaining,
reinforcing and revitalizing this knowledge of plants. "Indigenous" pertains
to the knowledge of the First Nations within each of their bioregions or Aboriginal
territories; "folk" refers to the knowledge of rural U.S-adopted cultures
(e.g. African Americans, Appalachians, Asian and other cultures now living
in the U.S.)

establish an elder link: this
involves inviting elders to participate and set direction for actions

establish regional centers
as loci for farming and education as these tie into plant communities

encourage regional ethnoconference
sponsorship that would bring together tribal and non-tribal knowledge
on the subject of medicinals

Support community sovereignty
through the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Establish medicinal plant centers
dedicated to conserving the plants, providing information about their uses,
and ensuring a sustainable supply for future extraction, in partnership with
the communities.

Collaborate with the other efforts
under the Medicinal Plant Working Group to incorporate traditional ecological
knowledge within studies that focus on sustaining medicinal plants in the
wild and in cultivation.

Establish an ethnobotanical/ethnomedicinal
seed clearinghouse and exchange, working with traditional elders and communities.

The development of reliable, sustainable
financial support is the lynchpin upon which the work of the Medicinal Plant
Working Group depends. Without such financing, projects fall back on the time
and energy of volunteers for completion, a condition that would make it difficult
to fulfill the range of activities critical to the mission of the group. Funding
generated to support projects would be made available for cross-cutting efforts
bringing together researchers, educators, businesses and others in support of
plant conservation.

Identify potential funding sources
for coordinated projects

Develop a list of organizations
providing grants for plant-related projects

Identify federal agencies
interested in plant conservation

Develop an intra-governmental
effort outlining the roles and interests of agency members pertaining
to medicinal plant conservation; determine availability of funding

Develop a packet of information
for dissemination to potential donors

Meet informally with potential
donors to provide information on the importance of medicinal plant conservation

Hold a formal donors meeting
and develop an action plan out of the meeting

Facilitate development and coordination
of project proposals

Make the funding guidelines
of pertinent donor organizations available in a centralized location,
possibly via the internet

Develop a mechanism to assist
with project proposal coordination among working group member organizations

Promote the establishment of
a conservation trust fund for non-timber forest products, including medicinal
plants

Survey membership to determine
who has financial/legal expertise and could assist with contacts/ideas